Drek'Thar
:"They are watching. They must not lose heart. You must put on the armour at once, and show them they have a new chieftain." '' - Drek'thar to Thrall, shortly after the death of Orgrim Doomhammer '''Drek'thar' is the chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan, and the General of the Frostwolf armies in Alterac Valley. He is consecutively ranked as the most dangerous creature in terms of players killed http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/toplist/index.html?en,killedby. General One of the few remaining shamans before Thrall's coming, Drek'thar assumed the role as leader of the Frostwolf Clan when Durotan and Draka didn't return from their excursion to see Orgrim Doomhammer. Training the New Warchief The blind and powerful Far Seer, attended by the child Pelkar and accompanied by the frost wolf Wise-ear, Drek'thar admitted Thrall into the clan, administering several subtle tests of his spirit. When Thrall revealed himself to be proud, noble, and brave, Drek'thar began to teach him of his heritage, and of the old ways of the Shaman and the Horde. It was some time later that he sent Wise-ear on a mission alone, and then initiated Thrall in the ways of the Shaman. The spirits accepted Thrall, and Thrall proved to be the most powerful that Drek'thar had ever seen. Wise-ear soon returned with Doomhammer, who quickly took a liking to Thrall, and formed a plan to free their captive kinsmen in the camps. Drek'thar served as healer for the troops, but was kept unwillingly behind the front lines, for Thrall knew that if he should die, only Drek'thar could train another Shaman. Wise-ear was killed alongside Doomhammer in the fifth camp battle. Drek'thar stands at Thrall's side unquestioningly, and is one of his most trusted advisors and friends. Through his journeys, he sifted through battlefields of the old wars and stole pages from the spell books of various members of the Kirin Tor to make his own magical tome. After the Third War Drek'thar helped Thrall found the kingdom of Durotar and its capital of Orgrimmar, and conducted many magical experiments in the surrounding landscape. Drek'thar was trying to create a potion which required shimmerweed, a rare herb found only in Thunder Ridge (named so for the Thunder Lizards which lived there). The Thunder Lizards had become increasingly hostile of late, so when Rexxar arrived in Orgrimmar, Drek'thar instructed him to retrieve six bushels of shimmerweed. Rexxar did so and Drek'thar rewarded him. However, Drek'Thar was puzzled by the increasing hostility of the Thunder lizards, and assumed that perhaps there was an outside force behind it. Drek'thar went to investigate himself, and found that the behaviour Rexxar had reported was true. At Thrall's request, Rexxar joined Drek'thar in Thunder Ridge and collected several Thunder Lizard eggs to study. Upon further investigation, they found that humans had begun to harvest lumber throughout the region, and the upset ecology was driving the Thunderlizards mad. Rexxar wanted to level the lumber mill, but Drek'thar stopped him, saying that it would breach the non-aggression pact signed by Thrall. Instead, they had to kill the raging beasts despite Rexxar's reservations. Present Day Drek'thar currently resides in Frostwolf Keep in Alterac Valley. He leads the Horde in the defense of Alterac against the Stormpike Guard, a group of dwarven excavators who are encroaching on Alterac Valley. As well as a lack of horde players (a minimum of 10 players must be in Alterac Valley to keep the battle from expiring, when the time expires, the general of the side lacking sufficient players "dies" and the other team wins) his death will indicate the loss of a match, just as the lack of Alliance players or the death of Vanndar Stormpike signal victory for the Horde in that match. To this day, he carries the guilt of his actions during the early days of the Horde, and has never forgiven himself. Abilities Drek'thar in Alterac Valley is a formidable opponent which can easily tear apart an unprepared Alliance force, especially with dedicated Horde defenders. He has two guard wolves, Drakan and Duros that spawn nearby ever minute or so. Unlike other shamans, he also dual-wields. * Sweeping Strikes * Cleave * Whirlwind * AOE knockdown Strategy Contrary to popular myth, his guard dogs do not respawn when looted. They respawn when Drek is reset. Many believe that pulling the dogs outside and killing them will prevent having to deal with them on the Drek fight itself, but usually the whole raid stands outside the entrance to his keep when fighting the dogs. So he runs back in and his dogs respawn. The best way is to just rush in and tank him while a few of the attackers kill his dogs. That way you only deal with the dogs once. Note Drek'thar is currently the only shaman who dual-wields; however, in the Burning Crusade, shamans who put points into the Enhancement tree will be able to dual-wield as well. Sources *Lunarfalls.com *Book Lord of the Clans *Top List Category:Orcs Category:Horde NPCs Category:Battleground:Alterac Valley